Lakeville is the only community in the area to become a Green Community, in accordance with the Green Community Act.

If it were up to town selectmen and the Renewable Energy Committee, Dighton would be the next one on that list, making it the first in Bristol County to officially go “green.”

At the last selectmen meeting, town intern Mark Pritchard conducted a presentation on what it would take for Dighton to earn the designation.

No action was taken and there were more questions than answers at the meeting.

Selectman Patrick Menges said plans will be discussed at the next department head meeting. If it receives a favorable review, the town will file an application, along with the town water district, Bristol County Agricultural High School, the regional schools, Dighton Electric District and the North Dighton Fire District.

The entities will join as one and file an application with the state Department of Energy Resources.

He said if an application is approved, the town will receive money from the state toward reducing its energy consumption by 20 percent in five years, using last year as the starting point.

“We then need to establish a baseline for energy consumption for town government,” Menges said.

He added that all energy consumption — from fuel oil to electricity — will be converted into a million British thermal units. That MBTU number will be used as the starting point and the town will come up with a plan to reduce that number by 4 percent each year for the next five years.

Menges said the town will ask the state for an energy manger — to be paid for through a grant — and it will ask town voters to adopt a stretch building code.

He said such a code will force new building construction in town to conform to energy efficient building construction. Menges said it will make new construction projects more expensive but it will also make those buildings more valuable.

Menges said the state in general will likely be adopting an international building code that is similar in nature. However, a stretch code will take energy efficiency to a more stringent level for new construction projects.

Menges and Pritchard said there are small steps that can be taken if the town moves forward and an application is approved. The town can re-route bus routes to save money and it can use LED lighting for town buildings and other municipal lighting.